Into the Darkness:  Wind, Earth and Steel
by KillerTomato
Summary: "Alright guys, good joke. Let's put Dustin in a crazy red-sunned world, it'll be a blast," Dustin yelled into his surroundings. Not surprisingly...no one answered...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Saban Brands…not Killer-Tomato's…otherwise Power Rangers Samurai wouldn't be such a disappointing season…

Machine and Man

The Machine Empire had come and gone. The last few remnants supposedly eliminated by the combined forces of 10 different Red Rangers acting together as one. To all the galaxies there had been a collective sigh of relief, the ever present menace was no more.

That had been the story that seemed to repeat itself in her memory, but yet she couldn't remember any of it happening for real, it all seemed like a dream.

Was it even possible for a machine to dream?

If one could love she assumed one could dream, and love; she had once done. Another vague memory, or was it a dream, about once being royalty…but apart from snippets that fade in and out, she could never remember what that was like.

Perhaps years alone on a strange, primitive world had wreaked havoc with her circuits, causing all those memories to slowly be deleted. She was a machine and that was all that was certain, and yet she felt more alive that artificial, she ached, she slept, she felt loneliness, and she felt sadness, those were things that weren't programmable.

The shelter she had built over the years did not look like something inhabited by a machine, it was natural, not artificial. Nature it seemed called out to her truer now than it had in the past. Though, her machine physiology (if it could be called that) didn't always mesh well with the natural surroundings.

She had seen other life forms on the planet, passing leisurely through the forest, but never approached them, for fear of the truths they may expose. At least when she was alone she could imagine being alive, perhaps if she met others they would attempt to study her, break her down, and re-program her. Her mind said she was alive, but her body said otherwise, but that feeling of life she did not wish to lose.

Occasionally she would venture out into the world, keeping herself hidden as she witnessed the life that passed through the forest. Despite never being part of it, this connection via observation, made her feel like part of the life. She would often imagine approaching the individuals, but her fear would prevent it each time. Even times when no intelligent life-forms passed through, she enjoyed seeing the creatures of the forest in their lives as well.

Then there were other times the life she would witness would not invoke this feeling of comfort, sometimes vile creatures would pass through, creatures that invoked a completely different emotion, one of fear and disgust. These other creatures seemed violent and unruly, and sometimes she would have memories of being that way herself, and that thought seemed to sicken her.

Today was a day she decided to venture into the woods, it had been too long and she hoped to see some sign of life, either animal or otherwise. Yet today she would find herself in a situation she had never experienced.

A loud noise had gotten her attention, and she headed in that direction, where she would witness something she'd never suspect.

A few minutes ago he had been asleep in bed after a long day of teaching, and now he was in the middle of nowhere, not only that, the red sun than filled the horizon told him he wasn't on Earth. Dustin Brooks had had his fair share of crazy adventures, but this seemed to bring more a feeling of dread that adventure. Instinctively he reached to find something that would allow him to contact Cam back in Ninja Ops, only to realize that he was sock-footed, in his pajama pants…it was like a bad dream.

Of course, it was a dream; it had to be a dream. He reached down and pinched his arm, "Ouch…okay maybe not a dream. What in the world is going on?" He looked frantically around him, hoping to find some sign of where he was, or maybe to at least see that somehow this was all an elaborate joke set up by…well he wasn't sure who, but whoever it was would get a very stern talking to.

"Alright guys, good joke. Let's put Dustin in a crazy red-sunned world, it'll be a blast," Dustin yelled into his surroundings. Not surprisingly no one answered, "Guys? Hello…anyone?"

Dustin shouted again, but once again met with silence.

Unbeknownst to him, he wasn't alone though. Someone…or more accurately something or things were watching him. The uninvited voyeurs seemed unsure of what to do with this new trespasser in their world. After several moments of back and forth looks they decided what to do.

Dustin heard a loud noise off to his right as several human-shaped creatures appeared from the surrounding foliage. The oddest thing about them was that they seemed to be made of rock, black and grey stone. Dustin counted at least 5, and slight panic dawned over him.

"So I'm assuming you guys aren't the welcoming committee," the former Yellow Wind Ranger moved into a defensive stance.

The creatures didn't reply with words, but instead one of them leapt in the direction of the human.

"That's not nice," Dustin blocked one of the creatures advance.

The rock creature seemed surprised that he had been blocked so easily. The others realized that they weren't playing with an easy target. Two of the others moved to leap at Dustin's sides, while the other two planned on hitting his back and front. Moving swiftly the creatures leapt simultaneously.

Dustin stood up straight, clapping his hands together, and just as the creatures were about to meet his body, the human vanished, as the four rock creatures crashed fiercely into one on another.

Dustin appeared not far away, bursting up through the ground, his arms crossed over his chest, "They always fall for it."

The four rock creatures tried to regain their footing, but their clash had been hard and they were slightly disillusioned.

While readying himself for their next attack, Dustin temporarily forgot about the first attacker. He remembered the first attacker a moment too late, as the creature wrapped its arms around Dustin, lifting his feet off the ground to prevent the human from vanishing into the ground again.

"Apparently," Dustin grunted, "you guys are," he struggled to try and free himself, "smarter than you look." He was unable to break free, "and stronger."

The other rock creatures were at full force again, and they noticed that the human was restrained, and didn't seem to be able to free himself.

"Not good," Dustin continued to struggle, to no avail.

The other four rock creatures moved swiftly towards their newly captive prisoner.

A bright flash of light and small explosion knocked the creatures back, to everyone, including Dustin's, surprise. Another explosive energy came towards the creatures, the blunt of the force hitting one square in the chest, causing it to collapse into a pile of lifeless stone.

The new distraction caused the rock creature holding Dustin to loosen his grasp, giving Dustin just the opportunity he needed to escape.

"Well thank whatever you are…provided you're on my side," Dustin shouted towards the direction the force had come from. He then drove an elbow hard into the chest of the creature that had been holding him, "Ow!"

Apparently direct physical contact was not the way to handle…whatever these creatures were.

The creature attempted to grasp Dustin again, grasping only air as Dustin vanished into the Earth again, before reaching his hands from the ground underneath the creature. Grabbing the hard, jagged legs, the Wind Ninja pulled the creature waist deep into the ground, leaving half of its body exposed. Afterward Dustin burst from the ground again, a bit more observant to his surroundings.

She had no idea what had possessed her to help the human, but the rock creatures she knew were intending harm. Instinctively she had withdrawn her bow and fired the energy arrows into the midst of the creatures, destroying one and providing enough distraction for the human to break free. He was strong she had noticed, not wholly aware of his surroundings, but strong regardless. Despite his strength and skills, he seemed to fight with an almost light hearted tone, constantly talking to not only his opponents, but himself, leading to a rather enjoyable show for any onlooker.

She continued to watch from a distance, readying another energy arrow, just in case, but the human seemed to be managing quite well on his own now that his senses were fully attuned. It was remarkable how he was able to fend off the four rock warriors, and she watched intently. He didn't seem to have the capabilities to destroy the creatures, but he definitely wasn't letting them gain the upper hand again.

A new feeling came over her. She lowered the bow, the energy arrow dispersing, with a quick movement her bow was converted into a sword of similar design to the bow. She raised the sword and leapt from her viewing spot. She couldn't explain what had overcome her, but at the same time she reveled in it.

Dustin had managed to evade his attackers once again, but it seemed that no matter how many times he accomplished landing a blow, it just caused him more damage than the creatures. Of course he swore that his last kick had knocked a chunk of rock off one of the creatures, whether or not that was true, only the creature would know.

A shadow passed over Dustin, as he looked quickly overhead, "Oh great, more new friends."

The figure that had caused the shadow landed immediately in front of Dustin. It was human shaped, and female, but its entire body seemed to be made of metal. It was colored pink and chrome, though it…she looked like she needed a good shining, and maybe a little bit of rust-proofing. All he could see was her backside, apparently she had been modeled after a very attractive human, on the back of head there seemed to be sculpted black hair. She was wielding an interesting looking sword.

"Are you okay?" The metal woman turned her head towards the human, bright white eyes, despite being completely artificial seemed to glow with genuine concern.

"I'm good," was all that Dustin could reply before the woman charged into the fray of rock creatures.

The robo-woman or whatever she was moved with grace and precision, very un-machine like. Each one of her strikes met the creatures knocking them back. After separating the group she drove the blade of the sword into one of the creatures, causing it to fall to the ground, and ultimately into a pile of rocks, much like the one that had been hit with an energy blast had done earlier.

Realizing that their numbers had diminished to two, and that they were no longer facing a single opponent, the rock creatures decided to cut their losses and vanished back into the foliage. Both Dustin and the metal girl stood silent and unmoving for a few moments, to ensure that the rock creatures had fled the area.

After both had decided that the area was clear, Dustin approached the woman, "Thanks for the hand."

The woman shrunk back as the human approached, she wasn't sure what the human was going to do to her. Images of being broken into pieces flooded her mind, but at the same time she could tell that he didn't mean her any harm.

"It's okay, I'm one of the good guys….besides you're the one with the sharp and deadly sword," Dustin lifted his hands in front of his face to show he meant no harm, "and I'm the one in pajamas."

The machine woman lowered her sword, and then converted it back to the bow shape it had been originally. She placed the bow across her back; he seemed to genuinely mean no harm.

Dustin, breathed an internal sigh of relief that she wasn't about to pull the sword on him, and reached out his hand towards the woman, "I'm Dustin."

The woman looked at his hand unsure of what the gesture meant, instead she made eye contact with the human, "In a previous life I believe that I was known as Archerina."

"Well then Archerina, once again thanks for the help," Dustin moved his hand back to his sides, "also you wouldn't happen to know where this is, or where a guy can get a change of clothes would you?"

The machine girl, Archerina, scanned over the body of the human taking note of his seemingly well built body, "you look good in what you're wearing, why would you wish to change."

Dustin wasn't initially sure how to take the comment, and slightly blushed, "well it's kind of chilly out."

"There is warmth at my home, perhaps you would like to join me there, and as far as where this is, I myself am not 100 percent certain," Archerina began to walk towards the direction she had previously leapt from.

Not really having much other choice, Dustin followed the machine woman.

After a bit of a walk the two figures appeared in front of a small hut, the woman walked in and motioned for Dustin to follow her. Inside was very earthy, there were several pieces of furniture, all looked to be hand crafted and a small fire place, empty but there.

"So I take it you live here?" Dustin looked around the space.

"Yes, I don't need many of these things, but they do make me feel more real," Archerina placed several pieces of wood into the fire place.

"I dunno, you seem pretty real to me," Dustin noted.

"Thank you human, but I'm as artificial in this world as I was in your world," Archerina said, her voice heavy.

"So you're from Earth?" Dustin walked by the fire as the machine girl lit it ablaze.

"I've been there, my memory is vague but I believe I may have tried to harm your kind," Archerina motioned for the former Ranger to sit in a chair opposite her.

"Well whatever you were, I appreciate the help now," Dustin sat down. He wasn't sure whether or not he could completely trust the stranger across from him, but common sense said he didn't have much choice, plus he always tended to be overtly trustful of others at times.

Archerina would've smiled if she was able to, "perhaps you would like some food." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well I'm not sure our diets would mesh well," Dustin said, joking, yet at the same time completely serious.

"Of course not, I simply meant that I could find something edible in the woods. There is a stream nearby, and I'm fairly certain fish is a safe alternative for you," Archerina laughed as she spoke.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm a little on the full side right now. I actually wouldn't mind just resting," Dustin answered.

Archerina nodded that he was more than welcome to rest, though she did show hopes of conversing later. Dustin agreed, but as he sat by the fire he drifted off into sleep. Archerina did not attempt to wake him; she merely looked over the human, and once again confirmed that he looked just fine in the clothes he was wearing.

Dustin remained sleeping by the fire, though he seemed to be tossing about quite a bit.

Archerina watched the human as he slept; trying to figure out what was going on in his mind that caused him to toss so much.

Dustin lurched up from his seat, breathing hard, "holy cow, that was a crazy dream," he was still half-asleep.

"Are you okay?" Archerina asked; concern apparent in her tone.

"Okay so the girl robot wasn't a dream, I guess I'd realized that," Dustin shook his head as he woke himself up more so than he'd been.

"What was it?" Archerina had had her fair share of disturbing dreams since she arrived in this world, and was wondering if the same thing had been happening to the human.

"It was crazy, there were these giant people, and they were talking about some weird stone or something, then they were talking about some kind of dark power," Dustin explained, "and then it was like a big metal ship buried in the woods, and there were more of the those weird rock creatures and something else."

"Ship?" Archerina looked towards the human, her head tilting in attention, "Was it black and green?"

"I think so…" Dustin eyed the robot, "are you a mind-reading robot?"

"Not to my knowledge," Archerina answered, "but then again I'm not even sure what my purpose was. The only reason I asked was that I know of a ship not far from here, buried deep in the Earth. I've seen the sentient beings on this planet there."

"Wait, there are other people here?" Dustin got excited, "where are they?"

"They live in a fortified city not far from here, I've never ventured too far there though for fear of what they may try to do to me," Archerina answered honestly.

"Awesome…or potentially awesome unless they're like evil creatures, then the awesomeness factor dies…maybe my dream was like a vision, telling me to check out this place."

"I can lead you there tomorrow morning if you'd like," Archerina sounded enthused.

"I'd like," Dustin replied, "but I may need to find something more appropriate for exploration than my pajamas. Let's see if this still works." Standing up Dustin grabbed the waist of his pants, "if not this'll be really embarrassing," and with a fierce motion he cast aside his pajama pants and stood there dressed in the familiar black uniform of the Wind Academy, "good deal, Ninja magic still works."

"That was amazing Dustin," Archerina was impressed, "how was that possible?"

"Truthfully, I've never really known," Dustin laughed, "so I guess we'll sleep until morning then."

Archerina told Dustin he was welcome to sleep in the bed she had, and that she was just as comfortable on the chair. It wasn't as if she need it anyway, it was mostly there for appearance. Not one to argue over comfort, Dustin graciously accepted removing his boots and jacket then stretching out over the bed. In moments he was asleep, Archerina was not far behind him, going into a sleep mode as she sat in her chair.

For a change, Archerina slept with an easy sleep. No dreams of destruction and violence, just happiness...


	2. Chapter 2

Into the Darkness:

Flashes from the Past

Morning seemed to come quickly. Dustin awoke to the smell of food being cooked.

Archerina had woken before the human and gone into the forest to find something that would be suitable for breakfast

"That smells really good, I'm scared to ask what it is," Dustin said as he stretched his arms before fitting his feet into his boots.

"It's a type bird that is from around here. I've seen the others on this planet capture it for food. There is fresh water on the table, as well as juice," Archerina said as she continued cooking the meat. "I have no need to eat, but I do believe that I do possess the proper culinary skills for at least edible food."

"How do I know this stuff won't poison me?" Dustin said as he sat at the table sniffing the fruit juice.

"The others I have witnessed seem to be very close to human physiology, and I'm about 95 sure it won't harm you," Archerina answered as she lay a plate before Dustin.

"And a 5% chance I could die…good enough argument for me, I'm famished," Dustin took a deep drink of the fruit juice, "this is…I don't know what it is, but it's really good." Looking towards the meat Dustin took a chance tearing off the meat from what was a leg, "tastes like chicken." After a few moments his body didn't seem to be rejecting the food, and it tasted really good, so he ate more, "for something without taste buds you cooked this awesomely. Slowly yet surely you are becoming possibly my favorite mechanical being ever."

"Thank you," Archerina said with a slight laugh, "I appreciate it. Whenever you are ready we can go."

"Sure thing," Dustin continued eating.

"So how far is it we're going?" Dustin asked the mechanical woman beside him.

"Not too terribly far, but I must warn you that often there are the local sentient life at the site. It would probably be in our best interest to stay hidden when we arrive there," Archerina told the Wind Ranger as they made their way over an increasingly steep hill.

The man and machine moved quickly over the terrain. Following trails that seemed almost invisible unless someone knew to watch for them. Very little conversation was made between the two as they traveled, not for lack of something to say, but due to the rapidity they used in their movements.

Apparently not too terribly far in machine woman language meant at least two hours walk. That was the primary thought in Dustin's head as they came to an abrupt stop on a small ridge overlooking what looked like a dried out lake. In the middle of the depression was a massive jumble of vines and various plant life.

"Whoa, talk about déjà vu," Dustin said as he looked over the rubble, "this looks exactly like the place I saw in my dreams…only slightly more decrepit, and vine-y."

"It seems the area is clear, so it should be safe for us to approach," Archerina began moving down the side of the ridge they were on.

"Wait up," Dustin began to follow quickly caching up to the mechanical woman.

Within moments they reached the structure in the middle, the colors on the ship seemed to have faded but Dustin was confident that this was the thing from his dream. As he approached the ship he felt warmth moving through his body, and without even knowing why he started to dig into the ground in front of him.

"What're you looking for?" Archerina watched perplexed at the human's actions.

"Truthfully I have no idea," Dustin responded as he continued to dig, "but I'll know it when I find it…I think."

Archerina shook her head, "I think I'll go watch for anyone arriving."

"Good idea," Dustin said as he moved to a different section to dig.

Archerina moved off to a spot where she could observe who or what could be approaching the area, occasionally casting glance back to Dustin, trying to figure the human out. For the most part it seemed that there was really no sign of any sort of life for the longest. Eventually she decided it was safe and that she should go check up on Dustin, yet before she could arrive somewhere to her right she heard a screeching noise, followed by a ripping sound. In the sky a dark circle appeared and several bipedal figures seem to leap from the circle to the ground.

Archerina began to sprint back towards Dustin's area, "someone's coming. We have to go." She grabbed the human's arm and began to drag him behind her.

"Who's coming?" Dustin managed to ask, despite be dragged away by the woman.

"Not sure, but I don't think we want to meet them," Archerina answered.

Not far away Trakeena moved to the head of the small band of rock pawns that had been sent with her. Waving for the creatures to follow she moved swiftly towards her objective. The rock pawns seemed to match the insect woman pace for pace as she moved like a woman on a mission, "This way you worthless chunks of gravel, our lord demands we find this source…whatever it may be."

The rock creatures didn't respond verbally, but just moved in the direction that were ordered.

It didn't take long for Trakeena and the pawns to reach the site. Immediately she ordered the rock creatures to start tearing through the ship until they found the great source of power that was supposedly there.

"Anything yet?" Trakeena asked as she watched the creatures rip open sides tear into wires, looking aimlessly for something that could very well not be there.

The whole time Dustin and Archerina remained low to the ground, almost completely unmoving. They watched intently as the creatures tore apart the ancient mound of metals and plastics.

One of the rock creatures eventually showed some excitement, letting out an incoherent noise and moving quickly towards the insect woman.

"What is this?" Trakeena looked at what the creature held; it was a shiny, black stone, no larger than a quarter. "This is…this is complete junk." Trakeena cast the stone to her side, and raised her voice, "we did not come here for rock collecting, and we are here the power source. Now get back to work!"

Dustin watched as the stone seemed to be flung away, landing no more than a foot away, "That's it, I know it is."

Archerina looked at the human like he was insane; it was only a rock and a not very impressive one at that. She tried to tell him to remain quiet, but Dustin didn't seem to want to listen.

"Trust me, I know it. I don't know how I know it, but I do. Don't worry though, I am a highly trained Ninja, they'll never even notice me." Dustin moved from his position, stealthily as he could manage.

Just as he reached the stone though, he managed to trip over a large vine, that he swore hadn't been there a moment ago. Falling forward he let out a light yelp, that he'd hoped no one heard.

Needless to say, he wasn't that lucky.

"Some kind of ninja," Archerina said to herself as she came from her place and moved towards Dustin.

Trakeena was the first to hear the yelp from the human, "A human! Get him!" She ordered the rock creatures, who immediately left the crashed ship and began to circle both Dustin and Archerina.

"So I take it they heard me?" Dustin asked the machine woman beside him.

"It seems that way," Archerina replied as she converted her bow into a sword, "so let's get ready."

The rock creatures moved towards the human and machine swiftly. In moments Archerina had met a stone blade with her own. Dustin pulled his disappearing act into the dirt; in an attempt to escape what he surmised would be a very painful attack.

His plan worked…for the most part, but he was unfocused and had no clue exactly where he would come up at. Bursting forth from the ground he came up somewhere he really didn't need to be. Only inches behind was the insect woman, and after the initial surprise she has raised her staff, casting it down on the human.

"Oh crud…" was Dustin's reply as the, large, heavy end of a staff came falling towards him.

Trakeena smiled at the ease of the attack, readying for a victory. She would be the first to finish off one of the humans; surely her master would be pleased.

The force of the blow never came.

Both Trakeena and Dustin looked shocked at what was happening. Somehow the human was blocking the blow, but not with his body, but a glowing aura from his hand.

"The stone!" Trakeena reached for it.

"I think not," Dustin smiled; he could feel what was happening. He could feel the surge of strength that ran through his body. "This'll be fun."

Trakeena stood at a loss for words. This human boy in front of her was encompassed in a black glow. A bright light burst forth from the stone in his hand as it vanished into what seemed like nothingness.

Waldo, "Dustin," Brooks was no longer just a human/ninja. His body was covered in a black material, his arms were grey and the belt across his waist and over his shoulder were a similar gray. The elbow length gloves on his hands matched the black uniform that covered him. Across his back a 3 foot staff was sheathed, and over his forehead the black stone he had lifted from the ground was mounted in a head band over his brow. The stone began to glow as his head became engulfed in a black helmet. He was once again a Power Ranger…albeit now a black one.

"No…" Trakeena answered.

"Oh yeah," Dustin replied as he leapt away from the dumb-founded insect woman. He withdrew the staff on his back, "so…how does this work," without even having to do anything the staff extended an extra couple of feet. "Well…that's cool."

"A Power Ranger! How!" Trakeena was not happy with what she was witnessing.

"I have no idea, but I'm not complaining…though I'm not sure if black is my color," Dustin leapt towards Trakeena, elongated staff in hand.

Trakeena readied her own staff, in preparation of the blow. The two staffs met with a ferocious clash, as neither opponent wanted to give way to the other.

Archerina continued to fend down the rock creatures that were attacking her, having eliminated two so far.

Trakeena started to give way to the Ranger's attack, being not prepared for someone that strong at the time. Also noticing the dwindling numbers she decided it was best to call off the attack. She managed to get distance between herself and the new Black Ranger. She summoned a portal in the air and stepped through it, sealing it before the rock pawns could follow. Though there were only four pawns now, Archerina and Dustin easily handled them. Within minutes all was quiet.

Archerina dusted herself off as she walked towards Dustin, who was still looking at himself the best he could. Reaching up he removed the helmet from his head, it vanished from his hands and the stone on his head band reappeared.

"This is totally awesome," Dustin said excitedly.

"Amazing," Archerina said as she looked over the human, "it's a good color on you."

"Thanks," Dustin answered.

The machine and newly formed Ranger made their way back to Archerina's home.

"This is awesome, I mean a Ranger again, Tori will totally freak when she finds out she's not the only one whose powers were reactivated," Dustin was still marveling at his new found powers.

"It is pretty amazing Dustin," Archerina replied, "but why did this happen?"

"I don't know, but I'm not complaining," the former Yellow, now Black Ranger answered back to the machine woman.

"So…umm…power down?" Dustin said questioningly. Immediately Dustin reverted back to his original black, Ninja Academy garb except with a head band around his forehead, "okay…umm…Ninja Storm, Ranger form?" Dustin tried his old morphing technique, nothing happened, "okay…how bout Shazam? No? Dino Thunder…something or another? No? What was some other calls…how bout," Dustin thrust his hands forwards, focused on what he was wanting to do, "I got it," he smiled, this is one from when I was a kid, "It's Morphin Time!" His head shot upward as the gem on his head began to glow and his body was engulfed in the black light as he found the increased strength returning, and he was in his Ranger form again, minus helmet.

"Impressive, looks like you figured it out," Archerina's voice sounded as if she would be smiling if that was possible, "what about the Zords?" Images flooded back into the former Princess' head, large creatures, massive mechanical battles, explosions, images that she vaguely remembered from her former life. "Zords?" How did she know that term?

"Seriously," Dustin laughed, "that would be awesome."

Archerina came from her thoughts back to reality, "so what do you plan to do now?"

"Good question," Dustin got serious again, "I should probably try to find a way home. Maybe we should go and find one of the villages, someone there may be able to help…maybe?" Dustin wasn't too sure of his plan; that really was never his strong suit.

"We? Dustin, I can't go there, what if they…"Archerina began; her fears of being destroyed and studied came to fruition.

"Come on, you're the only friend…well I guess we're friends…that I have here, you know you're way around, and you're an awesome cook…once again despite having no need to eat, or taste buds for that matter. I promise I won't let anything happen to you," the new Black Ranger smiled comfortingly at the machine woman.

Archerina believed his words, despite her fears she knew that the human would do all in his power to keep her safe. She nodded in confirmation, "well we should probably get ready. There is a village a couple of day's walk from here."

"Okay then, well let's get a little rest and we'll head out tomorrow," Dustin suggested, "Power down," he reverted once again to his Ninja Academy garb.

Both the former Machine Princess and the former Yellow Wind Ranger returned to Archerina's home, after a brief meal of leftovers, Dustin took up inside the bed again and the machine moved into her own sleep cycle by the fire place.

If machines dreamed, Archerina did that night, or at least it resembled a dream to the best of her understanding. Images flooded her memory banks, as pictures, moving and still, flashed before her. Terms such as Zeo Rangers, Megazords, Machine Empire, Prince Gasket…all became familiar. She felt her own personality shifting somewhat, for the longest time she had spoken and acted like a machine, but she found herself wanting to joke, to make snarky comments, to sound less static. She didn't know why this was happening now of all times, but she figured that it had something to do with Dustin. Archerina knew that it would not be a mistake to follow the human.

Unbeknownst to either, two pair of eyes circled the home, scanning and watching their surroundings. Tonight there would be no trespassers.

Dustin and Archerina had gotten up early that morning to begin their trip towards the village, and the waning sunlight still gave them a little more traveling time.

As night approached, it was warming and the sky was clear so neither machine nor human were worried about having to establish a camp. All Dustin would do was roll out the mat he had grabbed from the house and Archerina…well she really didn't have to sleep as it was.

A loud roar caught both of them off guard as they saw something they hadn't expected.

"What was that?" Dustin looked for the source.

The source soon showed itself in the form of a massive dragon creature tearing itself from the ground.

"Well that answers that," Dustin replied.

"We should probably steer clear of that," Archerina spoke.

"Or we could go check it out…" Dustin got an unsure look from the machine woman, "I mean it could be cool…if we stay back a distance."

"Are you sure?" The machine princess said un-assuredly.

"It'll be fun," Dustin smiled, but maybe you should get your bow ready just in case.

Archerina nodded in agreement as she readied her bow.

Both human and machine slowly made their way towards the newly arisen creature.

"Is it me, or does it look like it wants to eat us?" Dustin tried to sound as unworried as possible.

"Maybe you…I'm a machine, probably not as appetizing," Archerina answered

Dustin laughed at the comment, despite being surprised to hear something like that from her. Up to this point she had mostly talked like a female C-3PO, but she almost sounded human in that moment. After that thought crossed his mind, he then realized that he was slightly unsure about the giant dragon they were going to see.

The Dragonzord moved its head in closer, though it didn't seem to want to attack, at least not yet. It eyed the two curiously, as if it was looking for something.

"You there, who are you?" A female voice, one that Dustin didn't recognize, shouted loudly.

Before Dustin could answer though, massive black hole appeared overhead. From the hole a large, pitch black creature appeared. Standing eye to eye with the fully erect Dragonzord, the creature let out an ear piercing shriek. Its bright red eyes glowed with fierceness, and on its massive hands each of the four fingers ended with long, silver talons.

A number of rock soldiers also appeared behind the monster.

End

A new, and unfamiliar voice, but who can it belong to? With Archerina's past come back to catch up with her? What of Trakeena? How is she related to things yet to come? All this and more, next time we travel, "Into the Darkness."

What of Cole and Trini? How do their stories relate to those yet to unfold?

And for TJ and Maya? How will their stories unfold?

Old enemies? New friends? Ancient histories? A new world?

The darkness calls all…but not everyone survives the challenge…


End file.
